Genetic study shows the red panda is actually two separate species

(This February 26 story corrects spelling of researcher's last name, paragraph 8)

© Reuters/Rebecca Naden FILE PHOTO: A one year old Red Panda sits in the trees having only recently arrived to a brand new enclosure at the Manor Wildlife Park, St Florence, near Tenby in Wales,

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Red pandas, the bushy-tailed and russet-furred bamboo munchers that dwell in Asian high forests, are not a single species but rather two distinct ones, according to the most comprehensive genetic study to date on these endangered mammals.

© Reuters/Thomas Peter FILE PHOTO: Zookeeper strokes a red panda with a twig at the Beijing Wildlife Park in Beijing

Scientists said on Wednesday they found substantial divergences between the two species - Chinese red pandas and Himalayan red pandas - in three genetic markers in an analysis of DNA from 65 of the animals.

The recognition of the existence of two separate species could help guide conservation efforts for a mammal adored by many people even as its numbers dwindle in the wild, they added.

© Reuters/Eddie Keogh FILE PHOTO: A red panda walks on a snowy branch in Burford

Chinese red pandas are found in northern Myanmar as well as southeastern Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China, while Himalayan red pandas are native to Nepal, India, Bhutan and southern Tibet in China, the researchers said.

International experts have estimated a total population of roughly 10,000 red pandas in the wild.

"To conserve the genetic uniqueness of the two species, we should avoid their interbreeding in captivity," said Chinese Academy of Sciences conservation biologist Yibo Hu, who along with colleague Fuwen Wei led the study published in the journal Science Advances. "Interbreeding between species may harm the genetic adaptations already established for their local habitat environment."

Scientists previously recognized red pandas as divided into two subspecies. While it had been proposed that these were separate species, the new study was the first to provide the genetic data necessary to allow such a judgment.

© Reuters/Herwig Prammer FILE PHOTO: A Red Panda sits in a tree at Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna

The Himalayan red panda is the scarcer of the two and needs urgent protection because of low genetic diversity and small population size, Hu said. The Yalu Zangbu River most likely marks the geographical boundary separating the two species, not the Nujiang River as previously believed, Hu added.

© Reuters/Rebecca Naden FILE PHOTO: A Red Panda eats bamboo at the Manor Wildlife Park, near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales

The two species also differ in coloration and skull shape.

"The Himalayan red panda has more white on the face, while the face coat color of the Chinese red panda is redder with less white on it. The tail rings of the Chinese red panda are more distinct than those of the Himalayan red panda, with the dark rings being more dark red and the pale rings being more whitish," Hu said.

© Reuters/Rebecca Naden FILE PHOTO: A one year old Red Panda sits in the trees having only recently arrived to a brand new enclosure at the Manor Wildlife Park, St Florence, near Tenby in Wales,

Slightly bigger than a domestic cat, red pandas have thick fur, a short snout and pointed ears, spending much of their life in trees and dining mostly on bamboo. Major threats to red pandas include deforestation and degradation of their habitat due to human development.

© Reuters/Benoit Tessier FILE PHOTO: A Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens) climbs a tree at the Beauval zoo in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher

Despite similar names, red pandas and giant pandas are not closely related. Giant pandas are one of the world's eight bear species.

Red pandas, with no close living relatives, are sometimes called living fossils as the only remaining member of the Ailuridae mammalian family. They are probably most closely related to a group that includes weasels, raccoons and skunks.

(Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Click to expand

Replay Video

UP NEXT

• 
  Paralyzed man walks again with brain-controlled exoskeleton

  A man paralyzed from the shoulders down has been able to walk using a pioneering four-limb robotic system, or exoskeleton, that is commanded and controlled by signals from his brain. Anna Bevan reports.

  Reuters
• 
  Water found in atmosphere of planet beyond our solar system

  For the first time scientists have identified liquid water on a planet outside the solar system, suggesting it could support life with habitable temperatures. Gavino Garay has more.

  Reuters
• 
  India loses contact with spacecraft on mission to the moon

  India lost contact with a spacecraft it was attempting to land on the moon on Saturday, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said, in a setback to the nation’s ambitious plans to become the first country to probe the unexplored lunar south pole. Sarah Charlton reports.

  Reuters

1

Cancel

SETTINGS

OFF

HD

HQ

SD

LO

Skip Ad

Genetic study shows the red panda is actually two separate species

Reuters

See more videos

SHARE

SHARE

TWEET

SHARE

EMAIL

What to watch next

• 

  Genetic study shows the red panda is actually two separate species

  
  Reuters 0:40
• 

  Paralyzed man walks again with brain-controlled exoskeleton

  
  Reuters 1:43
• 

  Water found in atmosphere of planet beyond our solar system

  
  Reuters 1:31
• 

  India loses contact with spacecraft on mission to the moon

  
  Reuters 1:21
• 

  Sotheby's to auction rare videotape of Neil Armstrong's first steps on moon

  
  Reuters 1:37
• 

  Russian space rocket lifts off with astronauts who survived rocket failure

  
  Reuters 0:45

UP NEXT